


Worst Laid Plans

by Android_And_Ale



Series: The Hero of Nova Herculania [6]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Admissions of Love, All Talk No Action, Angst, Cisco asks Harry for a helluva favor, Long awkward hugs, M/M, Nerdtacular science boys, Pining, STAR Labs Workshop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 08:34:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13877175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Android_And_Ale/pseuds/Android_And_Ale
Summary: Cisco threw a marker at Harry’s head. He grunted as it bounced off his temple, but didn’t look up from repairing his deconstructed pulse rifle.“You can’t give me the silent treatment forever,” said Cisco.Harry’s lack of a response suggested otherwise.“Come on. I brought you a huge sack of robot bees. No patent, totally new tech that’s usable and profitable on both of our worlds. That has to count for something,” said Cisco.“Thanks.” Harry didn’t look up. His flat voice conveyed no emotion.Cisco sighed. “This is bullshit.” He hopped off his stool and yanked Harry’s soldering iron plug out of the socket.Harry finally looked up, his face carefully neutral.  “What do you want from me, Ramon?”





	Worst Laid Plans

**Author's Note:**

> In addition to the porn, in the last installment we briefly met the Domina Fulgora and her bodyguard, Vestal Virgin Sara Lance. They planted a tracker in Vibe's costume, followed him to Hadrian's loft, and arrested him on the spot. Cisco knows that if Hadrian goes to trial on Earth VII he will be put to death for his crimes. 
> 
> That was about a week ago. Since then he's been home on Earth 1, healing up while trying to conjure plans. 
> 
> Only three more chapters left to go!

Cisco threw a marker at Harry’s head. He grunted as it bounced off his temple, but didn’t look up from repairing his deconstructed pulse rifle.

“You can’t give me the silent treatment forever,” said Cisco.

Harry’s lack of a response suggested otherwise.

“Come on. I brought you a huge sack of robot bees. No patent, totally new tech that’s usable and _profitable_ on both of our worlds. That has to count for something,” said Cisco.

“Thanks.” Harry didn’t look up. His flat voice conveyed no emotion.

Cisco sighed. “This is bullshit.” He hopped off his stool and yanked Harry’s soldering iron plug out of the socket.  

Harry finally looked up, his face carefully neutral.  “What do you want from me, Ramon?”

“I wanna work together again,” Cisco replied. His voice was laced with an undercurrent of genuine hunger. “It’s weird, but I miss you yelling at me.” And finishing his sentences. And resting his left hand on Cisco’s lower back while he leaned in, reaching around with his right to adjust whatever they were working on together.

“You can find another _mad scientist_ to fulfill that fetish.” Harry reached for the soldering iron’s plug.

Cisco danced backwards, keeping it just out of his reach. “These days you’re more a perpetually pissed off scientist. It’s not the same.”

Harry looked up. “You lied to me. For over a year.”

“No. I strategically withheld certain details.” Cisco crossed his arms. The pain from his dislocated shoulder had almost healed.

“You told Caitlin you were part of a Starling City Superhero Fight Club.”

Cisco blushed. He’d never spoken to Oliver about it, but when Caitlin asked him to take it easy on Cisco during practice Oliver completely rolled with the lie. Now he used it as his own excuse for unexplained injuries. “I’m pretty sure Felicity still thinks I’m having an affair with Oliver.”

“You could’ve had - “ Harry stopped. He let go of the soldering iron and tried to move around Cisco. There was another one in the bench drawer.

Cisco dodged, light on his feet as he blocked Harry between two work benches. Thanks to Fulgora’s training he was getting a lot better at herding people. “Say it.”

Harry finally made eye contact. His pupils were tiny black dots in an icy sea of blue. Hurt wrinkled his crow’s feet into waves, lapping at the unexpectedly damp shores of his eyes. “Why him,” Harry said slowly. “And not me.”

Cisco reached for the familiar warmth of Harry’s shoulder. Harry flinched, shrugging him off. Cisco rubbed his knuckles over his eyes.  “Dammit, Harry! I didn’t plan to bang your doppelganger! He just...shit. It started as hate sex one night when things really went to hell around us both.”

He flashed on the night Hadrian turned on Drusus, shooting him through the shoulder with a speargun and pinning him to a brick wall while shouting for Cisco to run, dammit, run! The inky blue miasma cloud crept inexorably towards them both, tendrils reaching out to lap  at their cheeks as Cisco fought to keep the breach open long enough for all the captives to escape. Hadrian body slammed him to the ground after the breach closed and rolled them both off the edge of the temple roof. Tumbling in midair, Cisco somehow opened another breach beneath them and instead of splattering to their death on the highway below they had the wind knocked out of them as they appeared in an alley behind Cisco’s favorite falafel joint. It was the first time Hadrian ever called him, “My Hero,” and damn did he want to show his gratitude.

Cisco shook his head to clear it.  His voice lowered. “Somehow the hate part got less and less important.”

“You could’ve said something,” said Harry. “So I wouldn’t.” He looked away. “Pine.”

“No! I couldn’t! After the first time, I couldn’t even look you in the eye.” Cisco grabbed the edge of the work bench, knuckles going pale under his grip. “I went on every home mission. I avoided my workshop. I was afraid you could see it on my face.”

“Smell him on you?” Harry tried to sneer but landed on sad.

“I felt guilty. Because you’re right.” Cisco forced himself to meet Harry’s gaze. “It should’ve been you.” His hand fluttered towards Harry’s arm, but didn’t connect. After an awkward moment he let it fall down to his side. Harry didn’t move, didn’t speak. Cisco wasn’t sure he was even breathing.

“After the second time I told myself it was harmless.” Cisco couldn’t bear the look in Harry’s eyes. He stared down at the work bench, nervously twisting a piece of wire between his fingers.  “You weren’t really interested. Hadrian let me get this obsession out of my system.”

“I was interested,” Harry protested. He took half a step forward, stopping just outside the edge of Cisco’s personal bubble.

Cisco stared intently at the scrap of wire. His voice dropped to a near whisper. “We were too dysfunctional to admit it.”

“Afraid of scaring each other off,” Harry confessed. His hand twitched. He shoved it in his pocket rather than give in to the temptation to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Cisco’s ear.

Cisco twisted the wire into a little spear. “Hadrian’s not like that.”

Harry deflated like Cisco’s words had punched the air from his lungs.

“He’s not afraid of anything. At least, he’s not afraid of anything bad, self destructive, moderately evil, or outright dangerous.” His voice caught. “His daughter confided that he’s had a mild death wish since his wife died. That was over a decade ago.”

Three things held Harry together after Tess’s death. Raising Jesse, running STAR Labs, and his military training during the War of the Americas. Remove any leg of that tripod and he would’ve collapsed. He wondered what was missing from his doppleganger’s life.

“He’s gonna get himself killed,” Cisco’s voice was barely a whisper. “Soon.”

Harry’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t be dramatic for my sake.”

Cisco closed the distance between them. He rested his forehead on Harry’s chest. Harry didn’t move, didn’t breathe. “I’m not.” Cisco slid an arm around Harry’s waist and pulled him into a tight hug. Harry remained stiff as a statue, but didn’t push Cisco away. “Fulgora issued a new warrant. If he survives long enough to get a trial he’ll get the death penalty. They don’t kid around about that on Earth VII.”

Harry wanted to push Cisco away, tell him to talk to someone else about this. Anyone else. Instead he stood unmoving while Cisco held onto him like a life raft. They’d said the thing neither of them had been willing to admit. How much worse could this get? He raised a hand and awkwardly pet Cisco’s hair. Cisco burrowed into his chest for comfort.

“What do you want from me, Ramon?”

“Talk to him,” Cisco whispered. Harry flinched. Cisco couldn’t be serious. “Tell him that punishing himself will only hurt Julia.” Cisco let the words ‘and me’ hang unspoken between them.

“He won’t listen.” Harry knew himself. He rested his hand on the back of Cisco’s neck.

Cisco leaned into his touch. “But I’ll know I tried. I’ll know I did everything I could, no matter…” He drew a deep, shuddering breath. “Every. Fucking. Thing.” His arms tightened around Harry.

“And after he’s gone?”

Cisco’s breath was warm over Harry’s heart. “I hope you can forgive me.”

Harry sighed. “You know you can do better.”

Cisco wasn’t sure if Harry was chastising Cisco for this request, talking about himself, or both. His arms were still tight around Harry, but he pried his face back to look up into his eyes. “I know.” His gaze dropped to Harry’s collarbones. “I don’t like who I become around him. Hard. Angry. I miss being soft.”

Harry’s stomach flipped. His cheeks flushed with anger at his doppelganger as his arms betrayed him by wrapping possessively around Cisco’s shoulders.

Cisco’s fingers spread over Harry’s back, hesitantly stroking a small line along his spine. He let his forehead rest against Harry’s collarbones again, breathing hard. He turned his head, gently pressing his lips into the base of Harry’s neck for a chaste kiss.

Harry stepped back. Cisco’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Harry braced both hands on Cisco’s shoulders, still holding onto him while physically pushing him away. “You want him to live?”

Cisco nodded silently.

“Bring him here.” Harry’s eyes were dark, but his voice was confident. “I’ll make him an offer I know he won’t refuse.”


End file.
